Over the years, St. Louis has has repeatedly had many events that students now think of as traditions. Traditions are the transmissions of customs or beliefs from generation to generation.

Some of the most known traditions for Shark students are: the canoe trip in eighth grade, sixth grade camp, X-games, school woods day, harvest fest, and the letters freshmen write to themselves to open senior year.

At the end of 8th grade year, the whole class and some teacher chaperones go to the Chippewa River in groups and canoe down the river. Groups of about two or three get together and get in their canoe and try to not end up in the river. This trip is more of a celebration for finishing middle school and moving up to the high school. According to Tara Goodell, “The canoe trip was so much fun, and it’s one of the things that I remember most about middle school. It was so hard to keep the canoe from tipping, especially when certain people were trying to make others tip.”

Another big event that happens every year is the week of sixth grade camp. Usually students leave midweek and come back Friday. Sixth grade camp is a favorite for many students. There’s so many things that happen in the few days students are there. They play games with the camp workers, engage in camping activities, attend a bonfire, climb the rock wall, go horseback riding, and at the end of each night, they go back to stay in their designated cabins with their group. Carly Daniels said, “I remember sixth grade camp being so much. Throughout the few days that we were there, I became closer to all of my friends, learned more about myself, and experienced many new things.

Once students enter high school, Mr. Caszatt has his students write letters to themselves to open their senior year.  A lot of students don’t take this seriously and end up opening a two- paragraph letter about how much they hate being a freshman and want to graduate. Therefore, incoming freshmen should take the time to be serious when they write. They will appreciate it and be thankful when as a senior they get it back. According to Mr. Caszatt, “There are a few reasons I assign the freshman letter, but most importantly, it anchors in time their current views and general outlook on life. This allows them to reflect back on their high school career and see how much they’ve changed. I feel that it serves as a good reminder that life is very short, problems are fleeting (and relative), and that deep down, there will always be a piece of ‘you’ that remains constant throughout your entire life.”

There are many more things that happen over the years that people can consider “traditions.” A few others include harvest fest, X-Games, 7th and 8th grade formals, and school woods day.